New Music to Listen to & Why by Jane Jansen Seymour - follow on Spotify @newmusicmatters

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Gorillaz Dress Rehearsal for Tour on 'Live on Letterman'

The Gorillaz have been a fave band ever since 2001, when I first heard "Clint Eastwood" on Baltimore/Washington's new music radio station WHFS during a summer vacation (now defunct much to my dismay!) I had to do catch up with Blur catalogue soon thereafter since Oasis clearly won the popularity contest stateside during their 90s heyday. Frontman Damon Albarn's distinctive dreamy vocals were now layered with hip hop grooves and rappers infiltrated the pop vibe, making for very interesting listening at the time. The group toured as a cartoon band to NYC in 2006 and I toyed with the idea of going to hear them but didn't go for the movie style performance with all the muscians behind a screen. This time around the band is in the front while cartoons play on the screen, making for a more satisfying concert experience. I wrote up their live session on kcrw's Morning Becomes Eclectic after a tempid The Colbert Report which seemed like a rehearsal but this Live at Letterman performance is a full blown dress rehearsal for their tour. Enjoy!http://www.popmatters.com/pm/post/132026-gorillaz-perform-for-live-on-letterman/